AW189 in US Demo Tour Among OGP Operators

AgustaWestland, February 27, 2014 - AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that the new generation medium twin helicopter AW189 will depart for a demo tour among US Oil & Gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico region, from March 4th to the 7th.

After been showcased at Heli Expo in Anaheim, California and a few days after the issuing with type certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the AW189 will demonstrate its outstanding capabilities to major companies in Texas and Lousiana.

The AW189 was designed in response to the growing market demand for a versatile, affordable, multirole medium twin engine helicopter. The new 8.3 tonne AW189 is optimized for long range offshore transport and SAR missions and has already received orders for 130 helicopters, including options and framework contracts, making it the outright market leader in its class. Customers in the OGP market include many of the world’s leading large fleet operators such as Bristow Group, Era Group, Gulf Helicopters and Weststar Aviation Services. Additionally major helicopter leasing companies such as Lease Corporation International, Milestone Aviation Group and Waypoint Leasing have signed agreements for AW189 helicopters.

The spacious cabin is configured with 16 seats as standard with the option for a high density 19-seat layout or a long range 12-seat configuration. The cockpit design, incorporating the latest in advanced situational awareness technologies, reduces crew workload and enhances safety. The AW189 meets the very latest international regulatory safety requirements (EASA / FAA Part 29, JAR OPS 3 / EU-OPS). The AW189 is unique in having a 50 minute ‘run-dry’ capable main gear box, exceeding current certification standards and offering unmatched safety and reliability for long range offshore operations.

The AW189 is part of the AgustaWestland Family of new generation helicopters that includes the AW169 and AW139 models, which possess the same high performance flight characteristics and safety features as well as sharing a common cockpit layout, design philosophy and maintenance concept. This commonality will allow more effective operations for customers operating helicopter fleets across the 4 to 8.5 tonne weight categories.